quote:Ezlo wrote:
About the secret offer. Are we allowed to ask questions about it here? Or in e-mail?

Please ask questions about the secret offer through e-mail.

-Erik

____________________________Godkiller Gamedev streams (live sessions where I make a new puzzle game. NSFW, mature content)youtube (archive of live streams, and some animated videos I made. Again, contains mature content.)

Well, come on, this is the pre-DROD era we're talking about here. How good could any of those games actually be? It's like comparing cave paintings to the Renaissance.

-Erik

____________________________Godkiller Gamedev streams (live sessions where I make a new puzzle game. NSFW, mature content)youtube (archive of live streams, and some animated videos I made. Again, contains mature content.)

Well, come on, this is the pre-DROD era we're talking about here. How good could any of those games actually be? It's like comparing cave paintings to the Renaissance.

-Erik

Well, it's my pre-DROD era perhaps, but plenty of these games (including some of the best) are quite contemporary. Several of my favorites -- Puerto Rico, Web of Power, and Caylus (to choose three popular examples from a very long list) are all published in the last five years.

Boardgames are about creating an enjoyable experience without depending on cutting-edge technology to wow people. They're still beautiful in their own way, but they're good because they make you think. (Hmmm...I wonder if I can use the above paragraph to describe anything else that I'm fond of? )

And if you don't believe me, come join me on SpielByWeb. Try it out!

Josh

____________________________
"Rings and knots of joy and grief, all interlaced and locking." --William Buck

I... I am... Wow. I'm in awe.
*speechless for about 2 minutes*
Whoa, okay. I'm better. Thank you so very much Erik and the DROD community, I just checked the forums. And then I noticed I had an extra 50 rank points and an extra 100 mod points. And I got a PM saying Erik has granted me my request on the Forum Hunter thread. And.. Thank you. I'm just letting this sink in.

Well, I'm glad Erik gave me a day of membership today, as I was in Maine yesterday, that would have been such a waste. Well, thanks again Erik.

quote:jbluestein wrote:
Boardgames are about creating an enjoyable experience without depending on cutting-edge technology to wow people. They're still beautiful in their own way, but they're good because they make you think.

Let me see if I can be so over-the-top with my stupid opinion that it will finally be recognized as sarcasm...

Boardgames? Don't you mean BORED-games? There is no possible way that these things could be entertaining. Ever. No way. I hate them and everybody else should too. In fact, there should be legislation that requires all games be playable on computers. Kind of like we are making television broadcasting switch to high-definition. Get with the program, you freaking luddite!

(Okay, if that doesn't work, I will resort to painful sincerity. But you don't want that. It's just embarrassing.)

-Erik

____________________________Godkiller Gamedev streams (live sessions where I make a new puzzle game. NSFW, mature content)youtube (archive of live streams, and some animated videos I made. Again, contains mature content.)

quote:Chaco wrote:
If he gets 50 mod points and 100 rank points for making a list, I have no idea how many I get for making a castle based upon a list.

Don't blow it, man! The only way you can get these awards is by not asking for anything, and even then lots of deserving people will get left out. Go back and read the "Don't Ask and You Shall Receive" post if that doesn't make sense.

-Erik

____________________________Godkiller Gamedev streams (live sessions where I make a new puzzle game. NSFW, mature content)youtube (archive of live streams, and some animated videos I made. Again, contains mature content.)

quote:UrAvgAzn wrote:
Boardgames. Bored-games. Thats funny. Anyway, you've got to admit, some boardgames are very enjoyable. Except for Backgammon, that just annoys me. What amuses you Erik?

Yeah, I've got a list of tabletop/pen & paper games that I like. Some of those: Settlers of Cataan, RoboRally, Chess, Magic the Gathering, Red Dwarf RPG, Canasta.

-Erik

____________________________Godkiller Gamedev streams (live sessions where I make a new puzzle game. NSFW, mature content)youtube (archive of live streams, and some animated videos I made. Again, contains mature content.)

quote:ErikH2000 wrote:
And I guess what I really miss are his books, which somehow create this feeling of a friendly, witty guy talking directly to me about geeky things. An Adams' book is always good company.

Amen. British humour can be very hit-or-miss, but Adams was consistantly funny. "Long, Dark Tea-time of the Soul" is one of my favorite two books ever, and is THE favorite in the humour genre.

quote:If we put Arthur Dent up against the Rooted Empire he'd wander aimlessly through random situations mainly concerned about finding a proper cup of tea.

I could see it now. The Slayer's vehement desire to kill him causes Dent to mistake his opponent for Agrojag and an akward attempt to apologize for that whole "reincarnation-as-a-bowl-of-petunias-in-low-orbit thing" ensues, much to the Slayer's confusion...

Or: Rimmer smuggly asserts his invulnerability - much to the Slayer's fury - until Lister decides he's so sick of them both that he offers to trade a holo-whip for his life. Meanwhile, the Cat meets his equals in both intellect and backbone in the Goblins.

The only one interested in getting any actual work done is Kryten, who fiercely brandishes his mop and vows to clean every last bit of tar and mud out of this filthy disgrace of a dungeon...

quote:* Smitemastery 101, a hold by Jacob Grinfeld that is designed for kids 8-12, and perhaps as a guilty pleasure for the genius who wants to give his overheating brain a break.

A legal question about this: even though I'll be getting this for myself (via CaravelNet download), is there anything wrong with setting someone else (like, say, my 9-year-old cousin) up to play this hold? If there's a legal issue here then you might want to consider releasing a demo version, because this sounds like it would be a great hold for introducing new players to the game.

quote:ErikH2000 wrote:
And I guess what I really miss are his books, which somehow create this feeling of a friendly, witty guy talking directly to me about geeky things. An Adams' book is always good company.

Amen. British humour can be very hit-or-miss, but Adams was consistantly funny. "Long, Dark Tea-time of the Soul" is one of my favorite two books ever, and is THE favorite in the humour genre.

It was consistently funny for a long time, but neither "Mostly Harmless" or the incomplete "Salmon of a Doubt" are particularly funny.

quote:DGM wrote:
A legal question about this: even though I'll be getting this for myself (via CaravelNet download), is there anything wrong with setting someone else (like, say, my 9-year-old cousin) up to play this hold? If there's a legal issue here then you might want to consider releasing a demo version, because this sounds like it would be a great hold for introducing new players to the game.

DGM if your cousin or someone else is available to help test *Smitemastery 101*, please send me an e-mail, and I think we can work something out.

-Erik

____________________________Godkiller Gamedev streams (live sessions where I make a new puzzle game. NSFW, mature content)youtube (archive of live streams, and some animated videos I made. Again, contains mature content.)

quote:* A character is remarkably sane or intelligent in contrast to an entire world of flailing imbeciles.

This has been bugging me: it seems to me that the split's pretty much down the middle between British comedies where the main characters are completely loony or imbecilic. Now that I think of it, I think the split's pretty much the same in American comedy, so it couldn't really be called a property of British comedy so much.

____________________________
What do you call an elephant at the North Pole?

quote:ErikH2000 wrote:
DGM if your cousin or someone else is available to help test *Smitemastery 101*, please send me an e-mail, and I think we can work something out.

-Erik

There may be someone else (expect an e-mail shortly), but after watching her play "Viewtiful Joe" these past two nights I've decided she's not the puzzle-solving type after all. I'd end up having to walk her through anything more complicated than skewering a roach or two (or just playing it for her while she watched). I don't think I'll be introducing her to DROD, sadly.

That said, though, what I was really getting at with my previous post was having a hold that's especially suitable for introducing new players (of all ages and intellects) to the game. Can anyone name any good ones already out there among the free holds?

There may be someone else (expect an e-mail shortly), but after watching her play "Viewtiful Joe" these past two nights I've decided she's not the puzzle-solving type after all. I'd end up having to walk her through anything more complicated than skewering a roach or two (or just playing it for her while she watched). I don't think I'll be introducing her to DROD, sadly.

I'm a Crash, Ratchet & Clank, and GTA series fan. I master the former two. I play SSBM when I visit my friend's house.

I'll admit that Viewtiful Joe is the farthest thing from DROD, but give it a try, won't you?

---

The Land of Sand is a nice easyish hold, but I don't think there's any good strictly introductory holds...[Last edited by Niccus at 07-14-2006 12:04 AM]

quote:Niccus wrote:
I'll admit that Viewtiful Joe is the farthest thing from DROD, but give it a try, won't you?

I think you misunderstand. It's not that VJ and DROD are mutually exclusive and you're not allowed to enjoy both. Heck, I've enjoyed both.

The problem is her attitude. She's a very dependant person who doesn't like thinking or doing much for herself, and after watching her play these last few days I've decided that she hasn't grown out of it yet (which worries me a bit). She loves tearing through easy enemies that don't require much more than button-mashing, but anything more challenging (even a simple jumping puzzle) and she tries to get me or her father to beat it for her. Point out that she needs to practise and improve if she wants to play these games and she literally whines.

And I don't think she'd bother with any game much without someone there to watch or play with her (and do the hard parts for her). DROD would be no exception.

Heh, are you talking about my own sister? I didn't know I had a cousin on the boards.

She is a bit on the same boat, in that she isn't terribly enamored with puzzle games (she did like room building, so that might lure her into the game). She will play some DROD here and there, or similar games, but will require someone to watch her and give the occasional nudge (solving the whole of a puzzle is seldom required, but a bit of a hint or making her go on playing helps a lot). Brute-forcing sometimes work for her too. So, having someone else around is more for companionship than any actual assistance; along the same lines, she dislikes playing strategy games alone against the computer.

Her biggest difficulty with DROD seems to be in the level of abstractions, though. I don't think she has grasped the concept of "movement", or how efficiency matters, and she certainly has a lot of trouble with roach movement rules (serpents are actually easier for her, since their behaviour appears pretty random until you know all the gritty details). That can be tricky when in rooms with more than a few roach queens and some roach manipulation.

Then again, I guess the difference between young folks in the way they play DROD is close to the one seen in older players. DROD would only attract a minority of adults, and some of the concepts might be hard to grasp for someone not particularly fond of puzzling games.

What a beautiful piece Yeah, kids in general want to play in company. And learning efficincy etc may take years, but it's a valuable life skill. I remember first playing Supaplex, Dungeon Master or Solomon's Key when I was 7, and how hard it was as everything used a little bit of "magic". Now, unfortunately, I have the ability to analyse, and those days of heady imaginative interaction have gone altogether. Back then, however, nothing made me happier than being praised by "an adult". I don't have kids but can't wait to watch my niece play DROD. I was the first to see her stand (and that's an amazing thing in itself) but appreciating beauty in logic is amazing in its own right. And watching someone grapple with new concepts - that's a time I want to be involved in.

quote:* A character is remarkably sane or intelligent in contrast to an entire world of flailing imbeciles.

I am British, and I feel like that most of the time...

Douglas Adams have got to be my favourite authors, or at least second. Philip Reeve (Mortal Engines) is first, though there's just none of the humour.
It makes me crack-up thinking about the part in one of the Johnny books (Pratchett) when Wobbler is described roughly:
'Parts of Wobbler moved all over; in fact, it was only on average that he moved in any one direction.'
That's not the exact quote, because I can never find it.

quote:BeefontheBone wrote:
That's not a plural apstrophe - no apostrophes do that. Your version is about the Adams belonging to Douglas. "Douglas Adamses" would probably be the best (and funniest) at pluralisation.

quote:Jatopian wrote:
So... what's mine say about me? Or do I really want to know?

Well, I don't like to make generalizations and promote stereotypes, but I'm sorry--a name like "Jatopian" has really obvious connotations.

From that handle, I think everyone here has made the guess that you own a tiny pink sewing machine, which you use to sew tiny little dresses for your pet hamster, Madam Wilmeninette. On better evenings, with the lady in proper attire, the two of you proudly scamper about the local mall food court in search of abandoned, half-eaten nachos.

-Erik

____________________________Godkiller Gamedev streams (live sessions where I make a new puzzle game. NSFW, mature content)youtube (archive of live streams, and some animated videos I made. Again, contains mature content.)